Projections show Colorado still has a long way to go if the state hopes to avoid another dry summer. Water experts briefed state lawmakers on the latest drought conditions, saying it looks grim. Bente Birkeland has more from the state capitol.

Governor John Hickenlooper says a lack of water in Colorado poses a series challenge for the state’s tourism industry. The Governor answered questions from industry representatives as part of the annual tourism day at the state capitol. Bente Birkeland has more.

Crews from the Colorado Department of Transportation remain on full snow shift across the state, and are expected to remain on hand through tomorrow morning. As of early afternoon, CDOT says Eastern Colorado is the trouble spot, with a number of closures.

From wildfires to ranching and farming to next year’s water supplies, everyone is wondering what kind of winter Colorado is going to have. Over the next few weeks Rocky Mountain Community Radio partner stations are going to take a look at how snow, or the lack of it, will impact the state going into 2013. [...]

The Wetmore Fire is 100% contained as of this afternoon…El Paso County Health officials are reporting the first hospitalized flu patients this season…Hurricane Sandy may be thousands of miles away from Colorado, but it has led to flight cancellations.

A worker at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility in southeast Colorado remained hospitalized last night after sustaining injuries in an incident where another woman was killed…At a rescheduled campaign stop in Pueblo yesterday, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticized president Obama’s handling of the economy and the situation in the Middle East.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has confirmed a 4th case of West Nile Virus in the state today, but drought is helping keep numbers low across Colorado overall…Officials are beginning the bidding process for aerial mulching over portions of the Waldo Canyon burn zone.

Authorities are assessing damages after a powerful, slow-moving storm made its way through eastern El Paso County yesterday, damaging homes and cars…Today is the deadline for Governor John Hickenlooper to sign or veto bills passed during this year’s legislative session…A bill in Congress aimed at clarifying the status of the Manitou Incline unanimously passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee yesterday.

Aspen trees in Colorado are still feeling the effects of drought that occurred a decade ago. The southern Rockies have lost more than one point three million acres of aspen, and some stands in lower elevations continue to die off. As the much of the state grapples with current drought conditions, scientists are still [...]

Most of Colorado is in a moderate to extreme drought, and the outlook for June doesn’t appear like conditions will improve…and, Airmen from Peterson Air Force Base’s 302nd Airlift Wing are in France for commemorative D-Day events.

Springtime seemed to arrive quickly this year. A new project from Rocky Mountain Community Radio member station KVNF called iSeeChange takes a look at the phenomenon. Julia Kumari Drapkin spoke with both citizens and scientists about the early spring, and has this story.

Governor John Hickenlooper signed the state’s more than 7 billion dollar budget today. It has widespread support from members of both parties…Mitt Romney is making his first campaign appearance in Colorado since February’s caucuses…The National Weather Service is forecasting 6 to 12 inches of snow at the highest elevations of America’s Mountain through tomorrow morning.

Rivers are rising and reservoirs are filling, which is a sure sign that spring runoff is already underway. But the process is occurring much earlier this year than usual. The main reason has to do with warmer temperatures, but dust is another factor causing snowpack to melt faster. Water supplies in the West are [...]

Colorado officials monitoring a prescribed burn apparently didn’t request updated weather forecasts for the area for three days before it erupted into a deadly wildfire…The USA Pro Cycling Challenge has released the routes for this year’s bike race, including Stage 5 in Colorado Springs.

Colorado is cutting its medical marijuana enforcement staff by more than half because the state isn’t collecting enough licensing fees to pay for them…and, despite the current cold and snowy conditions, recent abnormally high temperatures and a lack of precipitation means increased fire danger.

A handful of Republicans joined Democrats at the statehouse to defeat a bill that would’ve required people applying for public welfare to take a drug test in order to receive their monthly benefits…Governor John Hickenlooper took a helicopter tour of the Lower North Fork Fire that continues to burn southwest of Denver…and, warm temperatures [...]

Since 1936, American farmers and gardeners have been able to select plants best tailored for their land by using the Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which is produced by the Agricultural Research Service, a branch of the USDA. The map uses average extreme low temperatures to divide the nation into climate zones. The 2012 version of [...]

March 3, 2015 | NPR · An estimated 1.6 billion people — many of them in the developing world — pay bribes for public services, according to a new book. The alternative may be no health care and no education.

March 3, 2015 | NPR · T. Geronimo Johnson’s latest follows four Berkeley students who take an American history class that leads to disaster. It’s an ambitious book about race that wants to say something big about America.